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What Types of Financial Websites are UHNW Investors Interested In?

In Spectrem Group’s study Using Social Media and Mobile Technology in Financial Decisions, investors from three different wealth segments were asked to list the financial services and information they would like to be able to access via computer, smartphone or tablet. What the study showed is that there is still some information investors prefer getting from their financial providers or advisors.

Given a choice of 12 topics they could see on the Internet, nine of the topics were of interest to less than 50 percent of investors in all of the wealth segments.

The investors were segmented by wealth level: Mass Affluent (with a net worth between $100,000 and $ 1 million Not Including Primary Residence), Millionaire (with a net worth between $1 million and $5 million NIPR), and Ultra High Net Worth (with a net worth between $5 million and $25 million NIPR).

Interest was highest among the UHNW investors, and 75 percent said they would be interested in a website that offered them access to personal account information. Seventy-four percent of Millionaires and 69 percent of Mass Affluent agreed that such a website would be useful.

Sixty percent of UHNW investors said they would access a website that allowed them to look at balances in one place from multiple providers, which is key to wealthier investors who often work with more than one provider or advisor. Sixty-three percent of Millionaires and 57 percent of Mass Affluent investors said they would use such a site.

While many investors let their hired professionals research products and services, 57 percent of UHNW investors said they would use a website that had articles or research on financial topics and products. Fifty-two percent of Millionaires and 43 percent of Mass Affluent investors agreed.

Interest in website advice from financial experts is below 50 percent, with 43 percent of UHNW investors, 39 percent of Millionaires and 30 percent of Mass Affluent investors looking for that kind of service. Of approximately the same interest is a stock market ticker tape online, with 40 percent of UHNW, 37 percent of Millionaires and 29 percent of Mass Affluent investors expressing interest.